NEW YORK -- The Giants chose LSU wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. because he was, well, their highest rated player on the board. That's the obvious.

General manager Jerry Reese and vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross have maintained all along that was what they were going to do in the NFL Draft. And they did, even though they conceded there were two players just a notch below. Beckham was among the Top 7 players on their board. When Beckham was still there when the Giants picked 12th, they had to take their guy.

The Giants have big plans for Beckham. The No. 1 word used to describe him was "versatile." That should be useful for coordinator Ben McAdoo in a new offense that is expected to resemble what they do up in Green Bay. That means a lot of screens, a lot of three-wide-receiver sets and a lot of interchangeable parts.

The Packers have found some pretty interesting ways the past few years to use versatile wide receiver Randall Cobb. He's lined up out wide, in the slot, in the backfield, run reverses and been used in almost every way imaginable. The Giants should be able to do the same with Beckham, if they so choose. Bottom line, he's a play-maker they desperately needed.

"We felt like this is someone who would help us a great deal to put the ball in the end zone, be a guy that we can count on to help us score some points, be another weapon that we can utilize as a wide receiver but, in addition, we can certainly feature him in the kicking game as well," coach Tom Coughlin said.

Beckham returned both kicks and punts during his time at LSU. He was much more successful as a kickoff returner, where he averaged 24.6 yards per return. He averaged 9.0 yards per put return throughout his college career.

But that's not why the Giants selected Beckham. He was picked with the idea that his speed, polished route-running and ability to make big plays can help the "broken" offense.

There also doesn't seem to be any concern that his skills are too similar to wide receiver Victor Cruz. Beckham will work primarily on the outside. Cruz will remain in the slot.

"No, I do not worry about that. Victor is an inside receiver, [Beckham] is an outside receiver," Reese said. "[Beckham] has more speed than Victor on the outside. I don't think they are similar, I think [Beckham] said he likes Victor because they are similar in size. He is a little bit taller than Victor maybe. His body type and the way he moves around on the field are what I think [Beckham] likes about Victor, but I think they are two different receivers."

Cruz, Beckham and Jerrel Jernigan are all on the smaller side. Cruz is 6-feet tall stretched to the max. Jernigan is 5-foot-8. Beckham is 5-foot-11.

"[Beckham's] not the biggest guy in the draft but his size is fine," Ross said. "There are plenty of receivers that have been extremely successful with similar size.

"But he can play slot, he can play outside, move him around and he's done that."

That should provide McAdoo with lots of options, because the Giants have big plans for their first-round pick.